Steve and Cathy's Blog

Dawn breaks around 6:30am, and we begin our day with a glimpse of Mount Otemanu, one of the two extinct volcanoes that rise up in the middle of Bora Bora.  What a sight that is, from any angle and from any vantage point around the island.  Today our excursion is Sail Bora Bora by Catamaran, and it starts at 8:30am, so we will have ample opportunities to photograph this famous landmark.

We tender into Vaitape and board this beautiful 60-foot catamaran sailboat right at the pier next to our tender.  There are around thirty of us, and we will cruise around the lagoon, stop at a coral reef for an hour of snorkeling, and return in time for lunch.  The weather is perfect.

The captain and his crew do raise the sail, but as far as I can see, we stay under motor because there isn’t that much air.  It takes about an hour to get out to the spot off the shore where we will snorkel. Gear is handed out to everyone who needs it, and the crew tells us where the best spots are  (Go to the coral reef, not the sandy area.  The fish are always at the coral reef feeding on the algae). Cathy doesn’t bother with the swim fins, but we both get swim noodles, those four-foot long, four-inch diameter pieces of foam, so that we can just float around with our face in the water.

The views are amazing. There must be a hundred different species of fish.  Of course, the water is crystal clear and warm, and the area where we are told to swim has a current running through it such that all you have to do is float and the current will take you over the reef.  Cathy stays in about half an hour, and Steve about forty minutes.  What a wonderful experience.  Next time we do this, though, I want to have an underwater camera.

After everyone is back aboard, we continue our cruise.  Snacks, soft drinks and rum punch are served.  Music kicks in and a couple of the crewmembers coax some people to get up and dance.  Look who’s the best dancer!

So we party all the way back to the pier and chat with our friends, one of whom is Tony Glander. Tony used to live in Wisconsin, but now he lives in the Caymans working for his father at a dive and excursion place. He’s a really great guy, and we hope to see him in the Caymans when we get there in a few weeks.

Our excursion ends and we decide to head back to the ship for lunch and naps.  At 4pm Steve heads up to “Cigar Time” to say goodbye to Tony Glander.  We will be in Papeete  tomorrow when four hundred people, including Tony, will be getting off Insignia as this segment ends and the next one begins.

The ship sails at 5pm to cover 153 nautical miles to Papeete.  Cathy is on the veranda watching “my island,” as she puts it, slip away.

We have a very pleasant dinner tonight with Bob and Brenda Olsen in the Grand Dining Room.   And after that, of course we go to bed.  A very fine day in one of the most beautiful places on earth.